DB-36/RDZ200 questions

[jpasterjak]

Hi gang...

I recently bought a Chinabike and so far I'm quite happy with it. The mfr. plate says Xiongtai, but as close as I can tell it appears to be at least a clone of a Roketa DB-36/RDZ200, commonly marketed as the "Hummer." In fact, it had a lot of the same "Exceed" stickers and other weird Engrish phrase stickers that the Roketas have. Instead of "Hummer," however, it was badged as a "Broncho." Of course, the first thing I did was to desticker it.

It does have a Zongshen ZS167FML engine, which is a little cold blooded, but now that it's getting broken in it's been stone reliable and powerful enough for me.

The bars got replaced right away, as the stock ones were obviously crap. And I have an extra chain in the garage because I can kinda tell that the stock chain's days are numbered.

My question revolves around the brake pedal. It's probably the weak point of the whole bike at this point. It's obviously made our of garbage metal, so it bends anytime it comes in contact with anything. You can even feel it flexing underfoot when you get on it hard. Anyone know of a decent replacement made of something a little better than melted down Kia Sportages?

Also, the foam filter is not really up to the task, either. Where I ride we have a lot of dry, powdery sand, and I'm constantly having to clean the carb slide because it gets gritty and sticky. Anyone know of a paper filter that fits in the hole?

Thanks for the info. I'm very happy with my purchase up to this point. Finding a decent internet knowledge base makes it even better.

jg

[katoranger]

I may be possible to weld up some bracing to that pedal. I don't know of anything available aftermarket.

I have seen that bike at a local china bike shop label as a broncho. Looked pretty good. Is the filter in an airbox? Is the box sealed well?

These have been know to have poor sealing airboxes.

Allen

[jpasterjak]

I thought about welding some small square stock to the pedal, and will probably go that route if I can't find something a little nicer in aluminum or some better steel.

Yeah, the filter is in an airbox under the seat. The seal on the cover actually seems pretty decent, as it's a double lip that fits pretty well against the rest of the box. I think the foam of the filter is just too open for the type of dry, powdery silt I ride in. It probably wouldn't be too hard to improvise something, but if there's a standard filter that would drop in, that would be sweet.

jg

[katoranger]

Might need to post a picture of the airbox and filter to see if someone can ID it as a copy of a Jap bike filter. Allen

[thejunkman]

My first thought for the air filter problem was "Filter Skins" by PC racing since they are kind of a "one size fits all". You can oil them as well. I use them on all my MX bikes that don't use a pod style filter. In that case I use an old sock

http://www.openroad-honda.com/Offroad/Filterskins.jpg

As far as the brake pedal. You probably going to have to fab up something. First off I would cut the foot pedal tip in half or make it fold able somehow. Maybe install a small diameter braided cable from the tip to the frame as a makeshift brake saver. This will keep weeds and sticks from jambing between the case and the pedal and potentialy breaking the case or bending the pedal more.